Unattributed film synopses indicate movies not yet reviewed by HW staff.

Indicates films of particular interest

Opening

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief A fantasy-adventure directed by Chris Harry Potter Columbus about a teenager who discovers he’s the demigod son of Poseidon, sending him on a mystical search for Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt. He may or may not stop for a gyro along the way.

Valentine’s Day It’s like a cinematic adaptation of US Weekly. Could you possibly think of a better way to celebrate the saint of schmaltz than with a gaggle of beautiful celebrities–Joe Jonas and Taylor Swift, among them–canoodling in Los Angeles?

The Wolfman Benicio Del Toro, who looks like a wolf, reunites with his grieving father to help find his missing brother. A barbaric werewolf is the expected culprit, sending Benicio on a spa-ooooooky adventure. A remake of the 1941 horror film of the same name.

Continuing

Avatar Yes, the proceedings are involving, rousing and occasionally heartbreaking, but so was The Princess and the Frog. But before we pan the thing, the movie gets undeniably exciting in its spear-versus-machine climax. –Ryan Senaga

The Book of Eli Of course, hot on the heels of The Road and 2012, there’s not much we don’t know about Armageddon…This time it’s in the form of Denzel Washington, a solitary figure wandering the bleak landscape 30 years after an apocalyptic event known as the “flash.” –Dean Carrico

Crazy Heart A tragicomedy featuring Bad Blake, a 57-year-old, alcoholic country singer played perfectly by Jeff Bridges, who finds an intimate connection with a young journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) hungry for a story.

Dear John See review on page 20.

Edge of Darkness [Mel Gibson] still has the power to electrify us with his dead-eyed, simmering stare, as well as touch us with his cinematic fetish for martyrdom. Too bad one can’t say the same for the rest of the movie. –R.S.

From Paris With Love A thriller high on machismo and low on thrill. When the aid to the U.S. Ambassador in Paris (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) gets asked to stop a terrorist attack, he gets paired with a gun-happy detective, played by a bald and mustached John Travolta.

The Hurt Locker A gripping look into the work of the military’s most courageous and unrecognized heroes: the Explosive Ordinance Disposal squad, responsible for defusing roadside bombs in Baghdad. A critics’ darling.

Legion Toward the end, one of the characters wonders why God chose to exterminate humans. “Maybe He got tired of all the bullsh*t.” After seeing Legion, we’re tired of it too. –R.S.

Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire The tale of Precious Jones, a 16-year-old inner-city girl who’s made to feel not so precious–raped by her dad then emotionally abused by her mom (played by an unrecognizably austere Mo’Nique). Winner of three prizes at the Sundance Film Festival.

Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle purists will totally lose their irregularities after seeing what happened to their beloved creation, but in a way, that’s part of this film’s excessive charm. –R.S.

The Spy Next Door An atypical Jackie Chan production: meaning for every cool kung-fu chop, Chan also gives us reason to giggle at his F.O.B. naiveté.

A Single Man Writer-director Tom Ford, making his helming debut, has done a credible, savvy version of the Christopher Isherwood novel, making it visually telling and guiding his actors to near-perfection. –Bob Green

Up in the Air George Clooney gives a terrific performance in Jason Reitman’s equally terrific movie. –B.G.

When In Rome See review on page 21.

Doris Duke Theatre

3rd Annual Bollywood Film Festival runs through March 2 and features 10 of Mumbai’s best. See [www.honoluluacademy.org] for showtimes and movie prices.

Movie Museum

Bright Star (Australia/U.K./France, 2009) A poetic period piece based on John Keats’s relationship with Fanny Brawne, an outspoken fashion student.

Thu 2/11, 12:15, 2:30, 4:45 & 7pm.

Singapore Dreaming (Singapore, 2006) Huat’s in debt, his daughter is married to a failed insurance salesman and his son is wasting away an expensive opportunity at an American college. When he wins the lottery, things could only get better right? Wrong.

Fri 2/12, 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 & 8:30pm, Sun 2/14, 6:30 & 8:30pm.

A Serious Man (U.K./France, 2009) A dark comedy directed by the Coen brothers about a physics professor who’s fallen on hard times. His wife is sleeping with his best friend, his kids ignore him and, oh yeah, a tornado is quickly approaching his Minnesota suburb. A critic’s darling.

Sat 2/13, 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 & 8:30pm.

Elvis and Annabelle (U.K., 2007) A romantic fantasy about a beauty pageant contestant, Annabelle, who dies at a pageant then reawakens on the embalming table. Elvis, the funeral directors son, finds a romantic connection with the resurrected southern belle.

Sat 2/14, 12:30, 2:30 & 4:30pm.

Prom Night in Mississippi (Canada, 2008) This documentary, told through the regal timbre of Morgan Freeman, follows the prom committee at a Mississippi high school as they attempt to plan the schools first ever racially integrated prom, exposing the undercurrents of 21st century racism in America.

Mon 2/15, 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 & 8:30pm.

University of Hawaii

Dances of Ecstasy (2007) Dust off those glow sticks. A glimpse into dance music’s ability to unite diverse cultures under a single, spluttering trance beat. From Nigeria to an after-hours rager in the Australian jungle, “urban shaman” Gabrielle Roth takes us into the underground rituals of dance.

Sun 2/14, 5pm.

Chocolate (Thailand, 2007) An action flick starring Zen, an autistic girl who learns deadly martial arts skills by watching television. These skills come in handy when she attempts to collect money that’s owed to her ailing mother, the ex-girlfriend of a Thai gangster.

Wed 2/10, 6:30pm, Korean Studies Auditorium, Free.

The ARTS at Marks Garage

1159 Nuuanu Avenue, $12, 521-2903.

Il ladro di bambini (Italy, 1992) A policeman is ordered to escort two orphans from Milan to Sicily, opening up the floodgates for a poignant and ultimately uplifting relationship. Complementary Italian appetizers to follow.

Fri 2/12, 6:30pm.